"He was out the very next over, after your five-minute lecture" - Former captains troll Dinesh Karthik about Virat Kohli's dismissal in IPL 2025 final

Former England captains Michael Atherton and Naseer Hussain brutally trolled Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) mentor Dinesh Karthik for his animated discussion with Virat Kohli during the IPL 2025 final against Punjab Kings (PBKS). The remarks came as the former wicketkeeper-batter’s brief chat with Kohli during a strategic break didn’t work out because the star batter got out the next over. Karthik found himself in a spot of bother and tried to avoid the question.

The incident took place during a Sky Sports podcast, which featured the trio. While pulling Karthik’s leg, Atherton congratulated him on winning the trophy as RCB ended their 18-year-long trophy drought. He said (via News 18):

“Before the final, I predicted that if RCB won, you would be right at the front holding the trophy, which turned out to be true, and Virat Kohli was right at the back, but you won the trophy.”

“And secondly, in that final, what I noticed was, in a strategic timeout, you spent a long time telling Virat Kohli what to do. He was at the crease, and you spent a long time, I saw you there, pointing at him, and I think he was out the very next over, after your five-minute lecture. Tell me what you said to him,” he added.

Karthik laughed as he tried to skip the question before replying:

“This is probably the hardest question I’ve been asked on a podcast. The first part, at least, I can manage. The second part, I’m trying to think, without getting scared for my life, I need to say the right answer.”

Naseer Hussain also had a moment as Karthik failed to give a proper response to the question by Michael Atherton. The former English skipper said in the same conversation:

“I think it’s the first time ever that you haven’t got an answer. You’re silent.”

In the meantime, Karthik asked Atherton to guess about his conversation with Kohli, to which the latter responded hilariously, saying:

“I just thought, what is this man telling one of the greatest batters that has ever walked the earth? What can he possibly be telling him? And then I thought, whatever he told him didn’t work because he was out the very next over.”

Virat Kohli top scored with 43 runs off 25 balls for RCB in the IPL 2025 final. The 36-year-old also finished as the team’s leading run-getter in the 18th edition of the T20 league, amassing 657 runs in 15 innings, comprising eight half-centuries.

“He is walking into the lion's den” – Dinesh Karthik warns Shubman Gill ahead of his Test captaincy debut

Dinesh Karthik further warned Shubman Gill, who is set to lead India in the five-match Test series in England. The cricketer-turned-commentator reckoned that Gill will be ‘walking down the lion’s den’ as he steps into a new role. He told Sky Sports (via The Times of India):

"I really don't think he has realized the enormity of what it means to be a Test captain for India, as of now. He is walking into the lion's den. Coming to England as a cricketing nation is not easy."

Karthik, however, backed Shubman Gill and company to deliver in the Test series. He said:

"Luckily, for Shubman Gill, I think the England bowling attack is a very vulnerable attack. That is the only positive I see. They're gonna be put under pressure with the bat. When I say batting, England batting will definitely put the Indian team under pressure."

The five-match Test series between India and England begins at Headingley in Leeds, beginning June 20.